


Winter's War

by winter_scldier



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-07-12 13:27:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7106734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winter_scldier/pseuds/winter_scldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky and Steve had moved into an apartment in the suburbs of Washington after the events of Civil War. Unfortunately, several countries still want both of them dead, and they will do anything they can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Soviet Storm

Steve came home around seven one evening to find Bucky asleep on the couch of their apartment. His new metal arm was dangling over the side, and there was a bowl of Cheez-its on the table. 

Steve smiled and quietly closed the door. It had been almost three months sense they first moved in. T'Challa had figured that Bucky was sane enough to come out of the ice even though it had only been around six months since the put him under. Steve grabbed a blanket and gently draped it over Bucky's sleeping body before going into another room to watch TV  
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Bucky woke up about an hour later and looked around. He heard the TV in the other room and brushed the hair out of his eyes. He stood up and walked to the other room to talk to Steve. He asked him how his day was, and apologized for napping and leaving the Cheez-its out again. Steve knew that he had been trying his hardest to get adjusted to the time, and to learn to make his own decisions. 

He had spent the past few decades under Hydra's forceful hand, and never once got to do anything for himself. Ever sense he was freed, all he really ever did was either walk around the town trying to catch up, or sleep. He didn't tell Steve, but he was scared to go out. He was afraid he'd be recognized and shot on sight, even though Steve promised they wouldn't. But it was true in some respect. Even though the US didn't want him dead, multiple other countries did, and there was nothing Steve could do about that.  
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  
Steve told him that he needed to go exercise with him at least one day that week.

"It's not good for you to just stay around here all the time," he said. "There's a great path around the capital that we can run around a few times," he suggested. Bucky looked at him nervously before telling him that he was scared to leave. Steve sighed and told him there was nothing to worry about, but Bucky wasn't convinced. 

They went early the next morning. Steve was wearing a t-shirt, Bucky was in a hoodie. The pair decided to race, seeing as though they were both practically super humans. They lapped around the reflection pool, Bucky beating Steve by about two seconds. 

"You're losing you skill pal," Bucky said with a chuckle. "You always were a little slower."  
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Sam had seen Steve and decided to go over to him before they started running. He finally reached them, completely out of breath, almost five minutes later. 

"You know you guys...could be Olympic runners," he said. You run too damn fast." Steve smirked and looked at Bucky. "You could be just as fast if you just trained a little harder. But then again, it would take you a while." 

"I'll race you," Bucky said. "I promise I'll only go at half intensity," he teased. Sam frowned. "Alright Robo-Cop it's on," he said before he took off in a sprint. Bucky laughed and followed him. Even at half intensity, he was still twice as fast.


	2. Dark

It was three days later when Steve came home late, and Bucky was nowhere to be found. In a worry, he called Sam. He thought maybe the two had went to race again. Sam didn't answer. Steve sat down on the couch and started thinking of places he might be, not wanting to call anybody else.  
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Bucky limped into the house supporting Sam at around three in the morning. The two were bloody and beaten, and Sam was nearly unconscious. Steve frantically got up and helped move Sam to the couch. 

"What happened?" he asked Bucky frantically. 

Bucky groaned as he sat down and started tending to his injuries. "We decided to go running for a while before you got home. Suddenly, we were ambushed. They came from every direction, and there were a lot of them. I got most of them away but they shot me with what I'm guessing is was a tranquilizer. I woke up in what looked like an advanced prison cell. I got myself out pretty quickly and managed to find Sam before getting us out."

He groaned in agony as he pulled a bullet out of his leg and bound it. "They shot me a few times, but I'll live. I don't know about Sam though. I don't know if he got shot, but from what I know they beat him pretty bad. I don't think it's a good idea to bring him to a hospital either."

Steve looked over at Sam. "You're right. It's not." He sighed. "If you need help let me know. I'm going to make sure you weren't followed."

He went out into the hallway before Bucky could protest. He went outside and looked around for about twenty minutes before going back in and triple locked the door and windows. Bucky was extremely pale and weak. He had lost a lot of blood on the way back, and he had been beaten pretty badly. Sam was worse though. His face was swollen and bloody, and his arm was broken in more than one place. 

"Maybe we should let them kill me. After all I've done, there's no way they'll stop coming after me. It's not worth putting you and Sam in danger for things you didn't do." 

Steve shook his head. "No. That's not going to happen. I lost you once Buck. I'm not going to lose you again." Bucky sighed and stood up and started limping over towards his bedroom, but collapsed before he could make it. Steve ran over to him. "What happened?" he asked. "Was it your leg?"

He sighed again and nodded."Of course it was. I've been shot in my right leg five times now. It was only a matter of time before it finally gave out. Goddamnit," he said under his breath. "Help me to my room. I need to see what the damage is."

Steve nodded and put his arm around his shoulders and carried him to his bedroom. Bucky rolled up the bottom of his pants and winced. 

The muscle in his leg was almost completely torn, and was bleeding out. He swore to himself and looked over at Steve. "Steve..." he started. "You have to help me. I either lose the leg or you stitch the muscle."

Steve froze in panic. 

"All you have to do is cut into my leg and stitch the muscle back together. There are some drugs in the bathroom that basically makes the person they are given to fall into a coma. If you don't give me a full pill I'll wake up." 

Steve hesitated before grabbing the bottle and handing it to Bucky. "Here goes nothing," he said taking half of a pill, and then collapsing unconscious on the bed.


	3. Wounded

Steve relaxed on the bed, his hands stained with blood. It was almost dawn, and he had just finished. He looked over at Bucky. He was still unconscious thankfully, but his face was contorted in pain. The back of his leg was bound, and blood was started to seep through the bandage.

He went into the bathroom and started to wash the blood off his hands. He thought of his situation. Sam was lying severely wounded on the couch, and Bucky was severely wounded on his bed. Even if Bucky did wake up quickly, he wouldn't have the strength to leave, much less get Sam out. Steve knew that he couldn't get both of them out without help. A lot of help. 

He went back to Bucky's room and sat down in a chair in the corner of the room and closed his eyes. He didn't mean to fall asleep, but when he woke up to Bucky practically screaming with the sun setting, he knew he'd fallen asleep. 

He stood up and went over to the bed frantically. Bucky was screaming and saying his leg felt like it was being ripped off and sewn back on, again and again.   
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Steve grabbed what looked like a syringe, and injected it into his chest. His back arched in agony, and suddenly relaxed against the bed, gasping for breath. He grabbed Steve's arm and looked up at him. His face was moist with sweat and tears, and new ones kept forming in his eyes. 

"Thanks..." he managed to say. "I can't move my leg Steve. It hurts too much." He sighed. "You have to get Sam out of here. You need to bring him to a hospital, far away from here."

Steve panicked. "If I take Sam, I take you. I refuse to leave you here, knowing that you're being hunted. That you might be dead by the time I get back. I'll...I'll disguise you. We'll cut your hair. Change your name. There's a pair of crutches in the closet you can use until we find something better." Bucky sighed and shook his head. "You don't get it Steve. I'm going to be recognized no matter what you do to change me. I'll always be known as the Winter Soldier. Bucky Barnes is dead."

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I'm taking you to a hospital out of state, weather you come willingly or not." he handed him a pair of scissors. "It might be harder to recognize you if your hair is shorter. I'm going to dye mine," he said walking out of the room.  
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Bucky held the scissors in his hand. He hesitated, and then ran the blade swiftly over his wrist.


	4. Bleeding

Bucky winced as the cool metal cut across his flesh. He watched the blood pool around the cut, and slowly start trickling down his arm. He was trying to kill himself, though he wasn't sure quite why. 

As he felt his body grow colder, he couldn't quite comprehend what was going on as Steve knelt down in front of him in a state of panic. He didn't know what was going on until he felt the sting of the rubbing alcohol and the binding of the bandage around the cut. 

"You dumbass," Steve said as he taped the bandage closed. He sighed and say beside him on the bed. "I know you think you deserve to die, Buck. But you're worth so much more. Forget about changin our hair. We'll worry about that later. I'm taking you and Sam to the hospital."

Steve stood up and patiently waited for Bucky to follow him. He stood up slowly and limped after him to the living room where he watched Steve pick up Sam and start heading for the door. The three of them ended up taking their neighbors car, and driving for hours down the freeway until they ended up at a hospital in Virginia.   
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Steve helped Bucky and Sam into the emergency room before Steve helped Bucky over to one of the nurses. They told Steve that Bucky's leg would heal of they were lucky, and that the blood loss made him too weak to go anywhere for a while. 

Steve sighed and sat down beside the bed they gave Bucky so he could rest. He didn't know what he was going to do. They had to leave and go somewhere else, but they couldn't. Hey had to get to safety and arm themselves, but they couldn't. Steve had to single handedly save both of his friends, and everyone else in the hospital if anyone were to hunt them down.   
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Time ticked down into the wee hours of the night before Steve finally collapsed from exaustion. He had been trying to keep an eye out for anyone that looked suspicious. Every once and a while, he would see Bucky drift off into a restless slumber. He would often thrash around slightly, just enough to avoid the nurses strapping him to the bed. He would walk around and check on Sam. He had a bad gash on his side, as well as on his head. Doctors and nurses would often go in and out from the curtain that went around his bed. 

He had gotten shot in the back a couple of times and he wasn't expected to get up and walk again anytime soon. They didn't know if he'd even wake up again.   
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Steve woke up the next morning and sighed. He knew he had to make an executive decision soon. They weren't safe in that hospital, and nobody would be as long as they were there. He woke up Bucky and threw him his clothes. 

"We're leaving. Get dressed."

They were going to leave Sam behind. He would only slow them down. They weren't after him anyway. They were after the two of them.


	5. There will be Fire

Steve helped Bucky out of the hospital with little hesitation. He knew Sam would be safer without them, but he was still their friend. He didn't want to abandon Sam for the same of an injury, but there was just no choice. 

Steve got Bucky into the back of the car and then started driving. They were going to drive as far as they could go before he needed to rest. Steve planned on laying low on an island somewhere until things calmed down. There was too much risk if they stayed on the mainland. 

The longer they drove, the more pain Bucky was in. He didn't want to worry Steve, but eventually the pain got so bad that he almost started screaming. 

He eventually pulled the car into a nearby motel, as he realized how tired he actually was. He got them a room, and gave Bucky some pills to knock him out.   
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They had been settled there for a few hours when suddenly Steve woke up to the sound of an explosion and the shattering of the window. There was a loud scream outside, and then another bomb went off. This time even closer. 

Steve panicked and stood up. Bucky was out cold, and there was no waking him up in time. Terror welled up inside him as more screams pierced the air as another bomb exploded. The entire room shook as more glass and debris fell to the ground beside them. Steve dove on top of Bucky to protect him. He could feel shards of glass slicing into his bare back, until it all went quiet again.   
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They had to get out of there. If they stayed any longer, the bombs wouldn't stop. They would keep coming until the entire motel was nothing more than a pile of dust and death. 

Steve threw a jacket and hat on Bucky and a jacket on himself before supporting Bucky on his shoulder and heading for the door. He covered his mouth with his spare hand, and told anyone that tried to stop him that he had to get to the hospital.   
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He put Bucky in the backseat and started driving again. Steve eventually sound an empty car lot behind an abandoned factory for himself to rest. He thought of the motel. How many people had died because of a decision he made. How many more people were next because of them? He glanced over at Bucky's unconscious body and a tear escaped his eye. No one else needed to die for their actions. It was time...


	6. At the Stroke of Midnight

Steve looked back at Bucky with a sad glance. He looked at the knife in his hand, and then out the window. It had started raining. Steve thought it was fitting, seeing as what he planned to do.  
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His watched chimed down the hours. Each one that passed brought another moments hesitation. He knew it would be wrong to murder his best friend in his sleep. Especially because he originally had wanted to kill himself. 

Steve had been sitting for hours with the knife. He didn't know what to do anymore. Tick-tick went the clock, and the threat of death grew closer. He wiped tears from his eyes, not wanting to make the hardest decision in his life. He looked back at Bucky again, who was still lying down in he backseat unconscious. He couldn't stop his tears as he pulled out a piece of paper and pen that were in the glove box.  
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"Buck, as you probably discovered, I killied myself while you were unconscious. You were right all along. It's not worth constantly being on the run. It's not worth facing death at every turn. 

I couldn't kill you Buck. I love you too much to do that. So if you wish to join me, that's up to you. Just know that I loved you, so much. I never wanted you to have to deal with this. I never wanted you to have to deal with this. I'm so sorry."  
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Steve sat down the letter on the floor of the backseat and relaxed against his seat as tears streamed down his face. He raised the knife to his throat, just as Bucky sat up. 

"Steve..." He started to say. But it was too late. Blood slowly ran down Steve's throat as he tried not to make any noise. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the world around Steve went dark.  
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The next thing Bucky knew, he was in the hospital again. He tried to sit up in the bed, but a piercing pain in his torso forced him back down. He had been shot several times from multiple angles, but somehow he lived. 

He tried to look around for Steve. The last thing he remembered was them being the motel after they left Sam in Virginia. There was a panic amongst the nurses that were running around the ER. He saw a group of people running beside a gurney, and a whisp of blonde hair. 

"Steve!" He shouted in a raspy voice. He tried to get out of the bed and chase after them, to make sure he was alright. He collapsed in the pain the second his feet touched the ground. He practically screamed and passed out from the pain almost right away.


	7. Good to See You

All Bucky could see was a bright light above him. He was wearing a white t-shirt and pants, and his hair had been cut shorter. There was a man wearing a lab coat standing about thirty feet away. He was silent, his hands folded patiently behind his back. Bucky couldn't remember how long he'd been there. The way the man was looking at him, he figured it had been a while. "Steve..." He muttered quietly. "Where's Steve?"

The man sighed. "We've talked about this James. Mr. Rogers was assassinated a few years ago on a mission. He was trying to rescue you and Sam Wilson from a Russian based terrorist group where he was shot to death after getting the two of you out. Mr. Wilson passed away a few days later from his injuries."

Bucky looked over at him, a mix of emotions in his eyes. Rage, fear, sadness, regret. He tried to stand, but he was restrained to the bed, and his metal arm had been removed. "No," he said as he struggled. "No I just saw them take Steve into the hospital...He's not dead!" He screamed. Tears had begun pouring from his eyes in a mix of rage and disbelief.

He started sobbing. All he ever knew was dead. His whole life had been stolen away from him. All of his friends had left, and he was the only one left. And there he was, lying in what he could only think of as a mental institute. And he had lived this exact same experience before. There was no telling how many times he was laying in the same bed, waking up and asking for Steve. How many times he would struggle. How many times he would break down before passing out again. 

He noticed an officer standing outside the door. A wave of anxiety washed over him as he thought to himself, 'how many people have I hurt? How many more people died because of me?' 

"Why am I strapped to the bed?" he asked. He voice started to shake. "Did I hurt someone? Is someone else dead because of me?" The doctor shook his head. "That's not important right now James. What matters now is that you eat something. You've been losing a lot of weight lately." 

More tears welled up in his eyes. He knew he had done something. He saw a tray of food on the table next to him, but he didn't want to eat. "Food is the last thing on my mind. If you want me to eat so badly, knock me out and put me on a machine. At least that way I can be with Steve." 

The doctor sighed and shook his head. "James...not eating will not bring your friend back. You don't have to die just because he did."

Bucky glared at him. "I'm a hundred year old assassin. There is nothing in my life worth living for anymore. I've killed hundreds of people in previous decades, and if you don't kill me now, there's no telling how many more or next. You won't be able to keep me here much longer. I'll get out eventually. I always do. I beg of you...give me enough pills to overdose. Let me kill myself so that no one else has to die."

"If you do get out James, there are guards posted right outside your door. If you so much as step out that door without my approval, they will shoot you on sight. You have harmed multiple nurses on previous attempts, and killed at least three of them. I'm not going to kill you, but if you want to die so badly, then find a way out of your restraints." He turned without another word and slammed the door. 

He looked at his arm under the restraint. He had handcuffs as well as standard hospital straps. Ordinarily he would be able to break out of them easily, but he was extremely weak, and didn't have the strength.  
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He had been struggling for hours to get out until he finally interrupted the lock on the handcuffs so he could get his legs free. He stood up and slowly started walking to the door. He knew he was making the right choice, but it wasn't easy for him to open that door, and give his life away. 

He heard the guards shout. He heard their guns fire. He felt himself hit the ground. He opened his eyes to see a body that looked like his own dead on the ground, and his other arm dangling at his side. Steve was standing across the hallway with a sad smile on his face. "It's good to see you again Buck," he said. Bucky hesitated only a moment before wrapping Steve in a tight embrace, tears of joy streaming down his face. "I love you..."


End file.
